Bright green house leaves the neighbors in earth tone houses livid

Bright green house leaves the neighbors livid

People in nearby earth-tone houses will ask the owner to think of them and mute her paint.

One La Crescenta resident's decision to paint her house neon green has drawn the ire of neighbors who say the color stands out in all the wrong ways.

For the last month, the foothill house at 3045 Markridge Road has been coated in neon green with purple trim — a stark contrast to the muted, earthy tunes of the neighboring homes.

The blaring color has also done more than simply highlight the Markridge Road house; it has also exposed the lack of regulatory recourse for nearby homeowners.


"It's completely inconsistent with the neighborhood," said resident Mark Pearson. "We have a real concern it's going to lower property values."

Some said they were shocked when they first saw the home's new color scheme, which several called reminiscent of the Joker character in "Batman."

"Everybody was surprised," said Mark Spatny, who lives next door. "I came home from work and saw it. I hoped it was some sort of a primer."

Several residents on the street are trying to sell their homes but have not had any showings since the house was painted, he added.

---------------------------------------

More than a dozen neighbors held a meeting at one of their homes last week to discuss ways to convince Hoffman to change the color. They plan to draft a letter asking her to take their quality of life and property values into account.

pic of house at link

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-very-green-house-20100710,0,313934.story

I'd tell the other neighbors to fuck off.

I'd have a big shit eating grin on my face every time I drove by it.

Hell, I already do. There's one down the street from me that's bright yellow with electric blue trim. I always get a kick out of it.

Unless people permanently stock their yards with dead appliances and rusty cars on blocks, anything they do is just fine with me, even the occasional car seats used as porch furniture around here.

The only thing I've ever found offensive is the neighbor who comes around with a bug up his ass whining about his property values being destroyed by somebody eles's paint job.

In my small town there are a couple of houses that are unusual colors - not quite neon green, but still not terribly conventional colors. One's purple, one's turquoise, and another is prison green. You know something. I don't even notice them anymore. Has nothing to do with me, my house value, or the value of other houses in the area. Think about it. Where do you draw the line? What about architectural style? In my neighborhood there are old farmhouses, remodeled Capes, log homes, along with the odd ranch house dating back 50 or more years. Granted, this isn't a wealthy neighborhood of expensive homes, but some properties are valued in the $500K plus range, and, you know something, no one cares about the outliers.

People really annoy me - this uniformity is a serious violation of other people's rights.

The only sin against the neighborhood is the siting of the house on its lot. It looks as though it is turning its back on the street. Sited on a hill, it looks as though the driveway leads to the front door, and probably looks completely different on that elevation. Instead of fitting into a neighborhood of front doors it sticks out like a grounded battleship. The owner apparently is aware of that with trees planted on the front and side, (which by the way are planted too close to the house and will damage the foundation and the walls when they get larger, and eventually have to be cut down.) I like the use of color in buildings and don't object to this. It's just the ugly house is made more prominent with the color; the owner should hire an architect to make some modifications to it, and could even retain the color, which will fade quickly, anyway.

I think I sort of like that house and the neighbors could use it as a surefire direction to help friends and family find their own mud colored houses by simply saying "1 block and 2 houses east of the lime green house".

pretty. You either own your home or you do not. This woman owns her home. She has painted it the color of her choice.

ugly ass color. Now I'm not allowed to comment on my opinion of the color?

Or perhaps I'm only allowed to voice an opinion so long as you approve of it.

:wtf:

It's a discussion forum. You think the house is ugly. I think the person who owns it thinks it's nice. Who do you think should decide what color to paint a house? The owner or someone else? You don't need my approval to post whatever you want. What ever gave you that idea?

Not sure where you got the idea that I didn't know that. But since this is a discussion board, and someone put the ugly ass house up for discussion I commented. I didn't see you treat the other person who thought the house fugly in such a fashion nor did I see you tell those who liked it that either one owns the house or one doesn't. Is there some reason why you think I'm so mentally deficient that I needed that reminder while no one else did? I was wondering why you targeted me for the rather condescending lesson in ownership.

Never mind. I didn't suggest that you shouldn't say you thought the house was ugly. I was just pointing out the irrelevance of that opinion to the homeowner. I won't be replying to any other posts of yours, since you seem to misunderstand me so easily.

and I wonder how many of the neighbors are anti-government regulation types who think it is bad that the gov. interfers with big business & the like but want a nanny state when they experience inconvenence...

So the owner might as well have fun with it! If it were my house, I would paint a mural on that big blank wall.

I don't think the color is THAT bad. Not my style but far from some "quality of life issue"


Here's one for the mural idea. This would really frost their balls:

Is excellent. Notice THEY are all worried about THEIR property values. If they are so worried, let them all pool their money and buy the house, and paint it whatever color they wish.

but in suburbia, the color palettes tend to be a bit more subdued:)

they are obviously not in a development with an HOA:)

need something real to worry about.

The paint colors can't detract from what was already a pretty ugly facade.

asking neon home owner to condsider their feelings on the matter? I'm sure they've checked in on neon home owner everytime they do anything he has to look at....he's on a hill, he probably sees a lot of 'stuff' better left to the imagination.

wahhhh, he's not marching lock step with the rest of us...he's not like us...he doesn't belong!!!!!

Serial unreccers are getting stranger and stranger...

with the 14 mini-statues of David lining the drive?

This is like that, and more power to them.

It's right on the SE corner of whatever intersection. He had one and his neighbors started harassing him about it (you know the neighborhood, they said it was tacky), so he bought a bunch of them and lined the drive.
:rofl:

Sometimes Beverly is too busy & it's been quite a few years.

Google Maps street level has a great shot of it. 302 S. Muirfield Rd.

on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, The house had many naked marble statues visible from the street, so the Sheik had pubic hair and nipples painted on them. It caused quite a stir back then.

:rofl:

:rofl:

apparently they wear Santa hats at Xmas.

But, I can't find the link you refer to.

I used to drive by it every Friday on my way to our old watering hole.
:rofl:

I moved from LA to NYC 5 years ago, but I remember that awful place. I do think neighbors have the right to complain about these morons or to try to press for zoning laws to get rid of these assholes fucking up their property values. Property values are key - the home is a very important investment.

I also recall that when I lived in LA this crazy homeowner also had a hideous neon orange SUV in their driveway.

My other favorite is a house on Sunset in Beverly Hills, near Foothill I think. The owners go all out at Halloween and Christmas--they put out dozens and dozens of little "ghosts" on the lawn for Halloween and, on Christmas, have some other absurd lawn ornaments. If it were anywhere else, I wouldn't think twice, but because it's in BH and all the tight asses there have to drive by it every day, I get a perverse sense of pleasure seeing it.

I love that little bit of schmaltz when driving through LA. :D

I especially get a chuckle when they put santa hats on them around the holidays. I'm easily amused.

About the same shade of green with purple trim. It's been this color for a good 10 years and it's right next door to a church. (I think it belonged to someone in a band, because it had a cutout of an electric guitar attached to the facade for a few years) The worst thing about this house is that the paint is all old and peeling now- needs fixing up really bad.

I'll just bet that these complaining neighbors are the self proclaimed anti-regulation type republicans that are going to insist on more regulations then complain about too many regulations when those very same regulations that they helped to impose prevents them from doing anything to their own properties...

cracker box blah, the colors seem to liven it up. Tell the neighbors to plant trees and shrubs around the perimeter of their properties and then they won't have to look at it. Or, they could convince the neighbor to plant trees and shrubs around her house to obscure it from the street.

Snort.

It reminds of a adobe house I saw in a picture once that was painted cobalt blue with yellow trim.

pink plastic flamingos in her yard. The pink and green would go well together. The house would look like lime, grape, and bubble gum sherbet. The more they bug her, the more she should express her "individuality."

I hate nannies in the neighborhood.

It could be flanked by palm trees. California Americana.

after several of their neighbors complained about a pink flamingo in their front yard. They had a flamingo party, encouraging their friends to bring flamingos of all shapes and sizes, when they were done, they had over three hundred flamingos on display.

ugliness that it should be noted in the local guides as an attraction. It towers over the neighborhood like some dreadful watchtower of the Communist era in some miserable Eastern European country.

The color, of course, simply adds to its hideousness, but even the bland earthtones of the neighboring bland little boxes surrounding it could not make those little boxes seem more attractive.

It was painted olive drab green. My comment was that I wore that color for 3 1/2 years and I'll be damned if I'll live in it. I wanted purple and she wouldn't go for it so we settled on a bright turquoise. We have a bright purple shed in the back yard. and my computer room/office in the garage is painted metallic gold on the outside.

I think it looks cool.

:shrug:

I love color and people who are bold enough to show it!

...but recently painted it "smokey topaz" with cream trim and black accents. A couple
of our neighbors seemed upset about it. It is bright, and it does stand out. We
really don't care what anyone thinks. We like it, and we get a lot of compliments--at
least two a week. However, a couple of neighbors in our immediate area are not happy.

Oh well. Can't win em all!

I think salmon range and bright green sounds fun!

I don't know about you, but we live in the boring 'burbs--or as we like to call it--DeTaupeville. Everyone's
house is some shade of taupe. We say BLAH to that!

Here's to creativity and individuality!

not far from our state's governor's mansion. Most of the other homes are old traditional homes of stone brick or stucco painted in traditional colors. We live in a mid century modern which was the home of an architect who trained with Frank Lloyd Wright and had worked on his famous Falling Water. He built our house and a companion house (he was gay & in his day hid it by having his companion officially live in the house next door). Although we're alone in adding fun colors, we've heard mostly positive comments w the lone exception a historic preservation architect who previously sat with my husband on a architectural review board (which doesn't oversee colors) who commented how we ruined the original concept of the architect (this man would flip if he came inside and saw how modern & funky we've made the interior.

People are afraid to be bold due to resale value but we've renovated 2 other homes and both sold for full asking price within 5 days of going on the market.

I agree, Coffeecat, "here's to creativity! :hi:

ON the other hand we have some lovely "painted ladies" in San Francsico:











http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OTcB7xIvm1Y/SdKs0NijeNI/AAAAAAAACvY/ewUBxC_7CHs/s320/painted+ladies.jpg

outstanding Victorian homes..and a few of them have been painted in 3 or 4 colors..just like the painted ladies. Magnificent!!

They look great:)

...where is this picture you posted from?



I'd love to know the story behind that.

Don't remember where it is exactly, but it was from an article about how developments were started & never finished.:(

...the form this failed project took. To create all of those lots and roads first, then to start building in an isolated patch in the middle somewhere, rather than near other buildings or an obvious entrance.

they built 4 or 5 models, put in the streets and then boarded it all up.. they ripped out a 100 yr old orange grove to start it :(

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/business/24house.html&OQ=_rQ3D1Q26hp&OP=736c6cbaQ2F(Uus(IcQ5EQ27Q2BcclQ24(Q24bbO(bO(Q24J(sBQ27Q7B_uQ27Q27(Q24JNcBQ27u6NlQ26Q20

Developers are vile scum.

I told this asshole that there were owls out there and he went out and deep-ripped the site. x(

financed by Silverado Savings and Loan

i think that is about what Banning-Lewis Ranch looks like. and for that i am very happy.

:D

The color is awesome!

I like the plants overhanging the stone terrace.

We found some of the same images.

It's cool quotient is higher since it pissed off the rest of the neighborhood. I hope they put lots and lots ore really tacky Christmas lights on it in December and Big Pink Flamingos in the Spring.

about other things in the past. This paint may well be a "fuck off" message to them. Even better if she owns the house free and clear. She'd be the only one on the block, I'm sure.

Seriously, if you want to live in a place that regulates the colors of homes, move to a neighborhood with an HOA.

Otherwise, you can just forget about ordering neighbors around. Here's a photo of my freshly-painted house. It's not as orange as it looks:

but spectacular for their color. Latin America is full of them.

to paint their home whatever color they damn please.

Venice



From camouflage pixel-homes to rainbow-colored houses, a leopard-printed abode to a dalmatian-spotted dwelling, here are some of the most creative, innovative and unusual house-painting colors and ideas you have ever seen. Some of these are professionally painted – others are works of daring do-it-yourself art a conventional house painter would not touch with a ten foot extendable painting pole. (via Oddee)
more at..
http://dornob.com/cool-colors-10-crazy-painted-houses-home-painting-jobs/

In New Jersey

A true painted lady, entering this home is like “stepping inside a jewel box.” It features exquisite hand-cut Bradbury and Bradbury silk screened wallpaper throughout; a redesigned country kitchen with cabinetry patterned from a simple flat-panel bead board cabinet found in what had once been the pantry.

All original woodwork and moldings and floors are intact, rescued from layers of paint, lacquer and linoleum. In the dining room, with its coffered ceiling installed to reduce the bounciness of the second floor, the wallpaper serves as the pattern for the double-etched French glass doors that separate it from the parlor. All three floors are decorated with historically accurate and authentic Victorian furnishings.

The story of this house is not just a tale of a remarkable restoration. It is also the story of the very real relationship between a house and its inhabitants. In the second floor hallway there are pictures of the homeowners’ ancestors as well as photos of the family who lived here in 1904 – this same family whose July 4th photo taken on the front porch graces this year’s House Tour posters.

no one was sad when they moved & the new people painted it more "normal" colors:)

The joke was on them when it took 8 months to sell the house & they lost money on it because of the freakish colors:)

# adjective: conspicuously or grossly unconventional or unusual

Example: "A freakish combination of styles"

freakish.

That green looks like the came color my snot turns during the height of allergy season.

but for me it brings back lots of really bad memories of living in scuzzy apartments whose kitchens (and sometimes the bathrooms as well) were painted that same shade of green. Light fixtures hanging by wires. Cockroaches. Despair.


Plus it looks like snot.

And I love it!

:)

... you have poor investment skills.

If that color affects your quality of life, then you need to get a life of your own.

"exposed the lack of regulatory recourse for nearby homeowners" This presupposes it is any of their fucking business.

nicely said.:thumbsup:

Seriously, WTF is with the "property values" obsession? Are they afraid of the "wrong kind of people" moving in? :eyes:

whose "quality of life" is disrupted. What uber-assholes!

and really do when I think about he busybodies who are worried about it taking away their quality of life. They need to get a life if you ask me.

Those neighbors need to lighten up a little bit, it's just paint. Personally, I've always wanted a purple Victorian.

I recall loud house colors there back in the day. Interestingly I now live in San Francisco where all kinds of interesting colors are used and nobody seems to mind.

But if a person really loves that kind of color, they must feel out of place in that drab neighborhood.

OTOH, I don't have a problem with the neighbors sending a polite letter letting the owner know how they feel and seeing if a compromise is possible. No harm in asking. And no harm if the owner says, nope, I've considered your point of view, and am comfortable with the color remaining as is. When the owner sells, if ever, they can repaint to a more drab color.

The neighbors could live in a neighborhood with HOA fees that would enforce such things as color conformity, if it really were such a huge issue to them. And this person could live in one of those other cool neighborhoods with the popping colors like those posted on this thread (they look nice). But short of these people all moving to places that might fit their needs better, this is how it will remain.

There's no doubt that HOAs have the potential to suck. I'm not all that fond of mine, however I greatly prefer it to the alternative. I've lived in neighborhoods without a HOA and watched as property values went to shit because of a few individuals that had no respect for themselves, let alone anyone else. Code enforcement and law enforcement is a joke in such situations because quite often city officials either don't have the manpower or they just don't give a shit if your neighbor is starting their own salvage yard in their driveway or they let their lawn revert back to nature.

We actually had some developer build two ugly little "earth toned" cracker-box houses in my neighborhood. THEY'RE the ones everyone hates, because they have absolutely no personality.

Seems we always have assholes trying to make choices for us. Both on the left and the right.

And as far as I am concerned all such people can go fuck themselves.

I love colorful neighborhood!!! YAY!!!!

Pics at my blog:

http://lavidacountry.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/new-house-colors-2/

I say to the lady with the neon green, YOU GO GIRL! In fact I have some neon green around the top of my crown molding and on the calla lilies on said egg-and-dart molding.

I think the blue is real cheerful. One of my friends said it used to look like a funeral parlor LOL! :rofl:

Also, somebody commented secondhand "Looks like a buncha Mexicans musta moved in there".

:rofl: :wtf: OMG, somebody with some personality!

. . . than shitty neighbors, which is what I have.

why have a lot of boring colors

it's cool.

B-)

Her house. IMHO she can paint it any damn color she wants. I think the house looks good. We have some Americans who need to get color in their life. Too many regimented fools!

http://dornob.com/suburban-camouflage-14-lifelike-3d-garage-door-murals/

Or paint a screen with curtains airbrushed around the edges and use it for block party movies on Saturday nights.

thanks, very cool! :hi:

These people are so petty and bored that they have meetings about their neighbor's
choice of house color? They need to mind their own damn business and re-think the
stupid idea of sending the homeowner a letter.

The homeowner has a right to paint their house the color of their choosing.

Is everyone really that small and petty these days? Are we so self absorbed that
we demand everyone in our vicinity to live up to what WE want.

We've become a bunch of whining babies. These people really need to grow up.

And another thing--if you're that particular about what color your neighbor's house is--move
to a gated community or a planned community that has thousands of covenants. That way, you
can live under a ton of rules about how many cars can be parked in your driveway, if you
can have a boat out front, how often you trim your hedges--and what colors your house can be.

If you want those kind of restrictions--move into a neighborhood that has those kinds of
restrictions. Otherwise, leave your poor neighbor alone and stop being such jerks.

I HATE HATE HATE the uniformity Nazi's.

... potential buyers knew they could not even choose the color of their own house.

Then again I'm one of those people who wouldn't want to live in a place with those sorts of rules.

That's ridiculous. Who cares? If I were looking to purchase a home, I wouldn't care about the color of a house in the neighborhood. A person purchases a home, he should be able to do whatever he wants with and on his own property (as long as it's not somehow dangerous to others or unsanitary). That's why I hate the idea of condos: with all the rules and such, I wouldn't feel like I really owned my home. Apparently HOAs are like that as well. (I had never heard of them until a recent DU thread involving one.)

especially during the winter when I don't have to shovel out my driveway or walkway.

(and I have seen my share of all-beige suburban developments--blech!), I also think it's considerate to try not to violate the character of one's neighborhood when building something or choosing a color. This woman is being inconsiderate to her neighbors--you can paint your house green without painting it NEON green. If she likes neon green, she can go crazy with it INSIDE her house.

It's HER house.

"you can paint your house green without painting it NEON green" could just as well be changed to "you can paint your house blue without painting it white".

As for doing what she wants inside her house, you've done the real-estate equivalent of "I don't care what gays do, as long as they do it behind closed doors where I can't see it"

I mostly don't care what they do to the outsides of their houses. Unless it involves junked cars and appliances, and weeds, and vermin, and decay, and peeling paint, and rotting trim, and broken windows. She has the right to paint her house whatever color, but her neighbors have a right not to like it, and tell her so. I'm saying, it's nice when people consider their neighborhoods and neighbors before they do things. Certainly not a requirement, (especially when there are no local laws about it), but a thoughtful and considerate thing to do.

some of the neighbors have tried to sell their homes and have gotten negative feedback from potential buyers on the "ugly green house down the street".


If neighbors selling their homes have been able to do so without problems, even though the house looks like snot, then it's pretty much a non-issue.


I think I would have to know what someone considering a move to the neighborhood would think about that house before I could decide whether or not it's really all that offensive to the neighborhood as a whole.

Although it's still not my favorite shade of green. Some of those other homes that people posted photos of though...yeah, I could deal with those. :)

by building fences and installing landscaping to shield their eyes from the green and purple house. Better yet, offer to buy the green house and repaint it.

I would give almost anything to have neighbors that keep such an immaculate home. Besides the green seems to suit the house and when the trees grow up will be less noticeable. I would love to see this house in 10 or 15 years. Besides that it is more in contemporary style than the houses which are still in the 80s.

then again I HATE HATE HATE the color beige and apparantely that's all that HGTV tells it's sheep is any importance of value (you can tell how I feel about house porn)

There used to be a house on my street that I just LOVED--- it was mint green with teal trim and it looked great. Then they painted it beige and it looks really boring.

Whatever happened to individuality? If I wanted only beige I'd live in a HOA neighborhood-- who would be flipping out right now cause every lawn looks like hay (we're on water restrictions).

My (inherited) bathroom is beige and dark brown, and quite ugly, but I don't have the money to redo the bathroom. To make it look nice, I use burgundy as an accent color---shower curtain, rugs, glass, wastebasket. It almost makes the room look pretty.

The exterior of the house is green, a dark green. It's inoffensive, yet not all that common so it's easy to give people directions to my house. I'm not a big fan of green, but it beats beige any day. :-)

with similar color taste to me. The kitchen and dining room here are painted in Disney purple. I love it so much (the dining room is really bright).

like you said, there are ways to accent the color.

When we put vinyl siding on the house two years ago, we chose beige with white trim because it blended in with the surroundings (lots of trees and stuff) and matches the general "feel" of the neighborhood. But we did paint the front door a burgundy color, and I've got my (ancestral) Canadian flag flying from the porch, and pretty wildflowers of all colors in the planter boxes in front.

Beige...give it a "punch" of color (I learned a lot from watching HGTV...ha ha)

It was light blue with big daisies painted all over it. No one complained, and in fact it was a gathering place for the neighbors during weekend barbeques and such.

I don't care what color the house next door to me is. Not in the slightest.

changed it in a couple of months. I don't know why they did, but glad they did. I have an aversion for that shade of green.

I personally prefer "drab," "blah" colors in a neighborhood; I'd like the houses to blend into the landscaping so well I wouldn't know they were there.

That's why I live at the dead end of a private dirt road next to miles of public land. :D

If I had to live in town, surrounded by people, it's not the color of their houses that would agitate me. It would be the noise and light pollution.

I abhor standardizing regulations that stunt creativity. And they can't sell their houses because of the housing market, not the color of the neighbor's house.

Unless they are paying the mortgage on that house then it's none of their business.

Of course, I'm probably not one to talk. I painted my bathroom that color.

I think the larger problem is that the house is ugly. But, again, that's none of my business.

The green wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the black trim.

A few years ago. A friend talked me out of it, and I must say I'm not sorry I listened to him. Not out of any concern for my neighbors' sensibilities (if they had any sense, they wouldn't live next door to me), but because he rightly pointed out that the color would lose its novelty appeal quickly, and age poorly.

That being said, I always smile when I pass brightly colored houses. They're fine--for other people. And I would never object to anybody in my neighborhood painting his house any damn color he chose.

They expect her to be 'considerate' by painting her house a color they approve of.
But they haven't spent one minute 'considering' the fact that she likes the color she chose for her house.

People.

If the neighbors don't like her taste of colors, then maby she should paint it Neon pink!

where no two houses were alike (some were similar, but not carbon copies).

So I like a lot of variety. You know we don't get too many ways to be expressive in this life and I don't really care to judge how people want to do that.

I once saw a house in Florida (in a regular city neighborhood) that was built like a galleon--& it even had several cannon poking through pampas grass "waves." It was well kept up and I thought the owners must have a real fun spirit.

A little lime green? :shrug:

People should have better things to do than fight over the color of houses...